


Bottled Up

by pequinessa



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, T only for swearing!, a dash of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-29 19:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17813681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pequinessa/pseuds/pequinessa
Summary: Doyoung hated storms.Even if he could feel the warmth of Yuta's skin and smell his familiar scent from up close.(Maybe Doyung didn't hate storms that much.)





	Bottled Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [honEy D (nitori_chan_san)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nitori_chan_san/gifts).



> Well, dear honEy D, I hope you like my gift for you! I can't believe I got the chance to actually write something for you lmao, I was SO surprised when I learnt you were my giftee!!
> 
> I'm SO sorry if this wasn't what you pictured orz and I'm sorry if I didn't include everything you wanted! (sorry about the side ships, I just couldn't add anything else more without this fic becoming too large!) ANYWAYS I hope you like it!! I had a lot of fun writing this piece~
> 
> ~Prompt~  
> PROMPT #1: Roommate AU. In which there’s a power outage in their apartment in the midst of a blizzard and both Doyoung and Yuta are too stubborn to leave the place. (go crazy with it, but I’d love it if it contains a conversation while they’re wrapped in blankets. Angst is always welcome.)
> 
> RATING: Any  
> SIDE SHIPS: Yes  
> OT3: No

 

Winter had rolled in, wrapping its coldest blanket all over the city. The temperature had dropped almost alarmingly, and the night seemed to stretch endlessly, with the sun’s rays barely managing to peek through the now-regular heavy clouds that adorned the once bright blue sky.

 

To Doyoung, such relentless weather was more than enough reason to stay at home, cosy under his warm feather blanket, the curtains drawn and fluffy pyjamas on. It was perfect, since it was Saturday and he had absolutely nothing to do; the regular sense of shame and guilt that accompanied him when he decided to stay in wasn’t present this time around. Doyoung snuggled closer to his pillow, soaking in the precious and rare moment of peace and calm.

 

It was too good to be true, he thought when he heard the front door being slammed closed.

 

Of course, he sighed internally. Yuta was back, and by the sound of his loud steps and his poorly concealed angry voice, it seemed he had had another fight with his boyfriend.

 

Doyoung, by now, was used to it. Used to Yuta coming back earlier and earlier, used to his  baggy eyes and almost constantly red-rimmed eyes, used to his shouting-hoarse voice, and used to his angry pacing around the apartment.

 

He shouldn’t have cared, he should have just ignored his roommate. But alas, Doyoung wouldn’t be Doyoung if he didn’t care about Yuta.

 

He could tell that Yuta was trying hard not to make too much noise, for Doyoung’s sake. His roommate was a morning person, a terrible person in Doyoung’s eyes, but he was considerate enough to know Doyoung wasn’t a functional being until 11 am at least. That was why, even if he rose with the sun, he tried not to wake Doyoung up.

 

He could also tell Yuta was failing at being subtle, which meant he was truly upset. So much for a peaceful morning.

 

Doyoung stayed in his warm cocoon, pondering the pros and cons of getting up. The room was cold, and so was the tile floor. The prospect of leaving his forte of blankets wasn’t really attractive, yet, he knew Yuta would just shut himself in his room until lunch to listen to his angsty songs and feel worse. And even if he and Doyoung shared a similar taste in music, the younger was growing tired of listening to the same Lana del Rey album over and over again.

 

The factor that outweighed any of the other possible reasons why Doyoung should get up to talk with his friend was, of course, that he was irremediably in love with Yuta. It was rather embarrassing; however, Doyoung had learnt to accept it rather than fight it.

 

Yuta was the last person on earth Doyoung had hoped to fall for if he were to be honest with himself. Yuta wasn’t exactly the kind of person Doyoung had a tendency to fall for; he was actually quite the opposite, with his loud laughter and teasing remarks, his smartass mouth and his sports-enthusiastic ass. Yet, among all those traits that Doyoung found quite annoying, there were the other faces of Yuta that were irresistibly magnetic and pulled Doyoung in like an aimless meteorite orbiting near the strongest of pulls.

 

Yuta was so incredibly sensitive under his thick layer of confidence, and he wasn’t ashamed of that. Doyoung had been rather endeared at his roommate’s soft side that came afloat every once in a while. His big eyes, red-rimmed and with a glossy layer weren’t an atypical sight for Doyoung.

 

He was caring, in his own way, and he knew when to take things seriously. As much as he liked to joke around, Doyoung could always rely on Yuta when he had a problem. Yuta’s input was more on the objective and realistic side, and Doyoung could never grow tired of listening to the other calmly enlightening Doyoung on whatever crisis he was going through.

 

It had been a slight crush at first, Doyoung’s heart racing unconsciously at Yuta’s smile, ears turning red when the other complimented him, smile easily stretching whenever he listened to Yuta’s rants about his latest psychology book.

 

It was during Yuta’s birthday party two years ago when Doyoung knew he was ultimately fucked. The birthday boy had had one too many drinks, his easy going laughter grew impossible to refrain, making Yuta unable to form a coherent sentence of more than five words. It was both annoying and endearing, Doyoung bitterly noted.

 

It wasn’t his alcohol-smelling breath nor his glazy unfocused eyes that had trapped Doyoung in the worst of cages that fateful night. The moment Yuta grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bathroom with him, Doyoung knew something irremediably wrong was going to happen.

 

_“Doyoung,” Yuta said, a drunk smile playing on his beer-wet lips._

_The intensity with which Yuta was staring at the taller man made Doyoung squirm in his place, arms crossing in front of his chest as some sort of useless shield._

_“You’re the best roommate I could ever have, thanks for organizing this incredible party.”_

_Yuta’s confession took Doyoung by surprise and he couldn’t help but mirror Yuta’s goofy smile._

_“Ah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he chuckled, still nervous by Yuta’s proximity. Their guest bathroom wasn’t exactly big, and Yuta had always had a tendency for clinginess, which worsened the moment alcohol mixed with his blood._

_Yuta shook his head and took a step closer to Doyoung, reaching for his hand._

 

_“I do worry about it! I worry about you...I worry...I worry,” he struggled to say, tongue heavy._

_Doyoung freaked out when Yuta took yet another step towards him, almost caging him against the tile wall._

_Was he going to kiss him? Doyoung could see Yuta’s lips moving, most likely saying something, yet he couldn’t hear anything above the thundering of his heart, the blood thrumming in his ears._

_With one last step, Yuta hugged Doyoung, face resting on the latter’s neck._

_“Thank you,” he mumbled, pressing his lips against Doyoung’s throat in a swift kiss before he passed out._

_Fucking great, Doyoung thought, holding Yuta’s limp body in his arms._

_Now he had a drunk man in his arms and his name tattooed on his heart._

_Truly fucking great._

 

 

“Yuta, would you please lower the volume?” Doyoung knocked on his roommate’s door, aware that Yuta really wasn’t going to listen to him.

 

It was 10:30 am already, yet it was incredibly dark outside. Doyoung recalled the news reporter announcing a heavy storm, possibly a blizzard even, fast approaching from the east coast.

 

Doyoung shivered, still in his pyjamas and barefoot, which, in retrospect, wasn’t a smart choice. He should have put on some socks and a sweater at least.

 

Predictably, Yuta didn’t answer.  So Doyoung knocked harder, aware Yuta absolutely hated it with a passion.

 

He kept on knocking, calling the other’s names when suddenly the door opened, revealing a slow breathing Yuta.

 

“What,” he started, eyes glossily covered in a sad film of tears, “do you want?”

 

Doyoung scoffed at the aggressiveness of his voice. This was one of the uncountable reasons why he absolutely hated Yuta’s boyfriend. He had the extraordinary ability to turn mellow Yuta into an unrecognizable being that oozed nothing but anger.

 

“If you are planning to be all emo today, again, at least lower the volume please, I can’t even hear my thoughts.” Doyoung knew he should be gentler with Yuta when he was in one of his boyfriend-induced petty moods. Yet, no matter how much he loved the other, Doyoung also had a limit.

 

He was tired of being the one picking up the mess Yuta’s boyfriend left whenever they fought. He could no longer withstand such a pitiful sight, he was sick of watching Yuta closet himself inside of his room because the asshole couldn’t do his job properly.

 

At first, Doyoung had tried to be understanding and gentle. He would slowly coax Yuta out of his room, out of his shell, with sweet words and a calming voice. Time after time, being gentle, however, had proved to be completely ineffective.

 

He stopped trying to talk Yuta out of his angry fit, it was useless. He would rather deal with a sad, more rational Yuta who let himself be comforted, at least.

 

Yuta frowned, leaning heavily on the door frame.

 

“Alright,” he said, nonchalantly. “I’m sorry I’m such a bother.”

 

_Here we go again._

 

“Yuta, please, stop. All I’m asking is for you to just lower the volume, because hey, you’re not living on your own. God, you always do the same thing.”

 

Doyung watched as Yuta straightened his back once again, eyes widened in surprise.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

He was he sure he would’ve snorted if he hadn’t controlled himself.

 

“What I mean, Yuta,” Doyoung started, straightening his posture too, towering over the elder, “is that all you do whenever you fight with that boyfriend of yours is lock yourself inside your room and hear the same goddamn album until you’re deaf.”

 

“And maybe I don’t really get it, because you never want to talk with me about it, but please no matter how much you love drowning your feelings out in music, I appreciate my hearing thank you very much.”

 

Yuta’s answer got momentarily swallowed up by a rumble that rolled like a drum across the sky. The two men took a quick glance outside, eyes rapidly catching one another’s  when the quick check of the weather was over.

 

“The problem here is not that I don’t tell you anything. The problem here is you just don’t understand because you can’t. How could you? Tell me, what was the last time you loved someone? How could you understand?”

 

Getting stabbed would have hurt less than those words. Doyoung was sure of it.

 

Doyoung wasn’t a very patient person, yet Yuta had always proved to be that one irregularity that drew out Doyoung’s best qualities, the one for whom Doyoung always tries his hardest.

 

Had Yuta been any other person, Doyoung was sure he would have snapped. God, how he wished to just spill everything in that instant.

 

_I understand better than anyone else could._

 

“That’s it? You’re telling me because I don’t a boyfriend I wouldn’t be able to understand? Do you even hear yourself? Yuta, believe it or not, I am a person and maybe it’s because you have never viewed me under any other light than your roommate, but I am capable of loving other people. Romantically.”

 

“You’ve been single since I know you, for fuck’s sake, do you even know what love is? Do you even know what it feels like to love someone so much you would just go through hell to make things work?”

 

“Yuta-”

 

“No, you don’t. You don’t know anything, stop playing the victim here. You, of all people, have no idea what love is and that’s just pathe-”

 

"Yuta, stop."

  
The pleading tone of Doyoung's voice made him stopped mid-phrase. Yuta closed his mouth, eyes still shining with unwanted frustration.

"Why are you being like this? All I ever did was support you, be with you. Do you really think it is me whom you should be angry with?" Doyoung sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, fingers gently rubbing circles on his forehead. If only he could rub circles over his aching heart, just to soothe the phantom pain that never seemed to go away.

  
"You know what? I—"

  
Suddenly, the little pieces of sky that could be seen from their windows lit up, and for a hot moment it seemed as if the sun had finally gone out. The far too bright light clashed loudly against the usually dark sky winter.

  
Lightning.

The light moved across the clouds like branches growing at top speed, its electrical arms reaching far, far, far. It travelled all over the clouds, bathing even the furthest of the points in blue light. And as fast as it came, it went out, taking not only its light but the artificial one as well, leaving the whole city wrapped in a pitch dark blanket.

  
Yuta and Doyoung held their breaths, hearts thundering against their chests from fear. Neither of them had ever seen such a display of lightning before, and however spectacular it was, it only meant one thing.

  
The sound came later.

  
A booming noise that ricocheted all over the place, the thunder heavy and deafening.

Doyoung's heart almost leapt out of his throat when the noise broke. His first instinct was to cover his ears and crouch, eyes wide open and mouth slightly ajar. The sweat from the adrenaline rapidly covered him in a cold film, heartbeat increasing by the second.

How fucking much Doyoung hated thunderstorms.

  
"Doyoung?" Came Yuta's hesitant voice from somewhere near Doyoung. "Are you okay?"

He snorted.

  
"I'm fucking peachy, given I almost died from a heart attack, but thanks for asking."

He could hear Yuta's snort as well.

  
"Seems like you won't die, then. Stay where you are, I'll go fetch the emergency light. I'll be—"

"No fucking way you're going to leave me here, alone in the dark."

  
And really, Doyoung was a far too prideful person, he wasn't one to cave in to his fears nor one to show his weakness. Nonetheless, thunderstorms were a big fucking “no” on his list of likes, and at the moment he couldn't give a flying fuck about keeping up his facade, not when he felt like passing out with every show of  lightning that momentarily illuminated the room like a horror movie and with every thunder that heightened his blood pressure.

"Don't be a baby, Doyoung. Just stay there and—"

  
"Yuta, please," he asked in a tiny voice. He could feel his breathing speed up from fear.

"I'm scared."

  
There was no reply. When he heard Yuta's steps, Doyoung feared he had been left alone in the living room, despite his pleas. Doyoung didn't know what hurt the most, the fact that Yuta cared little about him being scared or the fact that he forgot Doyoung was terrified of storms.

His heart clenched painfully, the realisation of how little he meant to Yuta dawning on him like an unwanted cold shower, the freezing water leaving him gasping for air.

He wasn't sure what feeling outweighed the other, the paralyzing fear of being in the dark with a storm raging metres above him, or the disappointment that left him equal parts heartbroken and angry.

  
That fucking asshole. That motherfuc—

  
Doyoung screamed when he felt a hand gripping his arm.

 

"It's me, Dons. Don't be scared," Yuta's soothing voice came from above his head.

  
Doyoung released a shaky breath, and with his free arm reached towards his face to wipe away the fear-induced tears gathered in his eyes.

  
"Stupid, you scared me. I thought you had really left me here, alone," Doyoung whined. His articulations creaked out as he sat down on the floor, careful not to make Yuta's hold on him slip away.

  
"I'm sorry," Yuta chuckled, sitting down next to the younger boy, hand clasped around his arm. "I forgot how much storms scare you. Sorry."

  
Neither of them spoke, yet the space between them didn't feel soundless thanks to the thunder that kept going on for a while. Doyoung winced with every boom that resonated, and Yuta's hold on him tightened each time.

  
"Hey, I left my phone in my room. I'll go get it real quick so at least we won't have to sit in the dark. Unless you have your phone with you?”

 

“If I had had my phone with me I would’ve taken it out already, moron. I left it charging in my room but it was almost dead so I don’t think it’ll be useful.”

 

Yuta sighed.

 

“Alright, I’ll go get mine then.”

  
"I'll go with you," Doyoung immediately answered. He couldn't really see the other, but he knew Yuta must have opened his mouth a couple of times, just to close it a couple of times as well. He did that every time he was arguing with Doyoung but wasn't sure whether whatever he was thinking was worth the fight.

  
"Alright," the other conceded with a sigh.

  
Doyoung's skin bloomed with goosebumps when Yuta's warm fingers travelled down his arm, gently, slowly, just to intertwine their fingers together. He squeezed his hand as if asking Doyoung whether that was okay.

  
Doyoung squeezed back, skin prickling and heart racing. He had always wanted to grab Yuta's hand, at least to see if their hands fit comfortably around each other. Granted, it wasn't an ideal situation, yet a slight blush tinted his cheeks when he confirmed Yuta's smaller hand wrapped perfectly around his.

  
"Let's go slowly, we don't want to bump into anything."

"I think being kinda broke and having like, three pieces of furniture, comes really handy at a time like this. I mean, there are almost no obstacles," Doyoung supplied, eliciting a small laugh from Yuta.

  
"You're right. When we clean it's also practical."

  
Yuta guided the two of them through the living and dining room until they reached Yuta's bedroom.

"We?" Doyoung kept going, thankful for the small distraction. "I think you meant when I clean."

  
"Semantics," Yuta dismissed him nonchalantly, entering the room. Fortunately, Yuta had forgotten to lock his phone so the dim light of the screen was already noticeable from the pillow.

  
"Fuck!" Doyoung exclaimed when he accidentally banged his knee against the corner of Yuta's desk.

  
"Be careful," Yuta said, pulling Doyoung closer to him.

  
"I can't see shit where we’re standing, and why the hell is your desk so close to the door?"

Yuta chuckled, shaking his head even if Doyoung couldn't see him.

  
"Trust yourself to blame my desk instead of you non-existent space awareness."

  
"It's fucking dark, how can I—"

  
"That's why you walk slowly and use your free arm to feel around."

  
"Shut up, smart ass."

  
"You're one to talk."

  
Outside, the storm continued, bright flashes of light momentarily illuminating the room, the thunder striking short after. Drops of water started gathering on the window, the heavy "tap-tap” barely audible in the room.

 

Yuta grabbed his phone and turned on the light flash. Doyoung winced when the light hit him square in the face.

  
"Don't direct that at me."

 

“Sorry,” Yuta said, directing the light towards the window. He let go of Doyoung’s hand and crawled on his bed near the window. It seemed the power outage had affected the whole neighbourhood since outside it was pitch dark. Only the white emergency lights from the store across the street provided some sort of yielding against the darkness that threatened to consume it all.

 

“It’s not rain,” Yuta suddenly said, earning a soft “ _Mmmh?”_ from Doyoung.

“I thought it was rain, but it’s snow. It’s snowing,” he continued, beckoning the younger male to get on top of the bed and look out of the window.

 

Doyoung gently put his hands and knees on the bed and crawled towards where Yuta was illuminating the window. He could see their reflections on the window, so he had to strain his eyes a bit in order to actually see the tiny flecks of snow falling from the sky.

 

“The wind has started to blow,” he noticed. The telephone and TV cables had started to sway dangerously, and the thin naked branches of the scattered trees on the street had started to bend as well.

 

“A blizzard,” Yuta supplied over the roaring of the wind. At least the thunder and lightning seemed to have stopped in the last few moments, yet Doyoung didn’t know what was worse. Blizzards were far more dangerous than thunderstorms, according to him. More frightening as well, although maybe that had to do with his brain numbed by the dozen of apocalyptic movies he liked to devour. All apocalyptic movies had a blizzard, and during a blizzard, bad things happened.

 

“This is fucking nuts, I’ve never heard of a thunderstorm preceding a blizzard, what the fuck?” Yuta mumbled to himself, eyes trained on the way the street lights moved around violently as if they were made of rubber.

 

“It’s a thundersnow,” Doyoung provided, quickly recalling the unusual phenomena in one of his classes.

 

“No way, you just made that up,” Yuta said, widening his eyes in disbelief.

 

“No, listen, in regions of strong upward motion within the cold sector of an extratropical cyclone, these kinds of storms are likely to happen. I mean, thermodynamically, it is not different from any other type of thunderstorm, but the top of the cumulonimbus cloud is usually quite low.”

 

“I have no idea what the fuck you just said, but holy shit. That’s actually quite amazing, isn’t it?”

 

Doyoung snorted.

 

“Amazing? It’s fucking scary. On top of that, the thunder from thundersnow can usually only be heard within 3 to 5 km radius from the lightning. And since the sound is quite clear, I’m pretty sure the lightning is striking quite near the area. Speak about fucking scary.”

 

Yuta just chuckled, silently impressed by the piece of information.

 

The two just sat there, on Yuta’s unmade bed, watching their tiny part of the world be caught in a wild and unyielding blizzard. Doyoung might have even found it beautiful; the way in which the wind swirl around with the snow, rapidly covering everything in a layer of white. Like a loving mother wrapping a blanket all over her child, beckoning him to go to sleep. If it wasn’t for the howling, that was. The incessant noise seemed to break the spell.

 

“Hey, since the thunders have passed, is it okay for you to stay here? I’ll go check with the neighbours if something can be done about the electricity.”

 

“Like what? An emergency control or something? Yuta, this building , if you haven’t noticed, quite fucking old. I don’t even think it has the regulatory emergency lights.”

 

Yuta hummed, acknowledging the information.

 

“You’re right.”

 

Yuta sighed, looking out the window, pensive. Doyoung watched him, trying to figure out what could be going through his mind. The racing of his heart could no longer be blamed on the already-gone thunders; the ball of nervousness that sat heavy in his chest had everything to do with Yuta’s poorly lit side profile.

 

“Wanna stay here or would it be better to go back to the living room? Maybe if someone comes or knocks on the door we’ll be able to hear it better,” Yuta offered, looking at Doyoung.

 

Doyoung didn’t have any plans on opening their door to whoever it was that knocked. He had seen one too many movies to know where the sudden knocking during an outage led to. And even if was one of their neighbours, well, they could always pretend they weren’t in.

 

“Right,” he said nonetheless. Being in Yuta’s room in shadows made him rather nervous. He felt like an intruder. Also, he preferred to be in a larger room if he was going to be lightless for God knows how long.

 

Yuta nodded and stepped down from the bed, offering a hand to Doyoung. A pointless action, Doyoung noted, since the flashlight provided enough light for him to watch his step. He wasn’t going to dwell on it, Yuta had always been a bit of a gentleman. He took his hand and before walking out of the room, grabbed Yuta’s red blanket with him.

 

“Since the power is out the room will stay warm only for a couple of minutes more I guess,” Doyoung explained when Yuta raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

 

“Good call, Dons,” Yuta smiled, nodding rapidly.

 

They made their way back to the living room, the light from Yuta’s cell phone easily illuminating the path. Neither of them let go of their hands, and neither of them mentioned it. They climbed to their sofá and made themselves comfortable, arranging the blanket on their laps, the cellphone in the middle of the space between them.

 

“I’m so glad for technology, I don’t think we have candles in the house,” Yuta said, looking at Doyoung and smiling. “I mean, my wax candles are almost all burnt out, I don’t think they’d last long.”

 

Doyoung thought it was really weird, how they were fighting a couple of minutes ago yet there they were, talking as if nothing had happened. But alas, it had always been that way with Yuta, all bark and no real bite. It was easy, it was comfortable, to fall back into an amicable pace after almost ripping one another’s heads apart.

 

Doyoung wasn’t going to play innocent and say that all of their fights were started by Yuta. It had been hard at first, the two of them both skilled arguers who didn’t like to lose. Whereas Yuta was one to make witty remarks and smart jokes, Doyoung liked to flaunt his superior knowledge on almost everything and make cutting comebacks. To be short, they were like fire and gasoline, edging each other more and more to the point of eruption.

 

It was quite a sight, their friends had told them, to see them bicker. It was exhausting as well, and after one too many fights, they had decided to try and chill for a bit. It had been the best choice ever, Doyoung recalled.

 

“I don’t think so, either,” Doyoung answered, mirroring Yuta’s smile.

 

After that, they fell into a comfortable silence. Well, not silence per se since the wind kept howling beyond their walls and windows, furious growling travelling through the thick brick wall.

 

Doyoung shivered a bit. The temperature in the room had dropped quite a bit and, despite having predicted it, Doyoung didn’t think it would be so fast. He had always been rather sensitive to cold, which was a shame since he wasn't a summer person either. Doyoung didn’t really fancy a season over another, yet the extreme changes in weather bothered him greatly.

 

“Are you cold?” Yuta asked, concern lacing in his voice.

 

“Just a bit.”

 

“Come closer, let’s get you warm up, you giant pile of ice,” Yuta joked, moving the cellphone aside and lifting the blanket.

 

Doyoung assessed this offer for half a second, before moving an inch closer to the other male.

 

“Come closer, you big baby,” Yuta softly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer, until their thighs were touching. “That wasn’t that hard, now, was it?” Yuta chuckled before enveloping the two of them with the fluffy blanket.

 

 _It was very hard, mind you_ , Doyoung thought. He could smell Yuta’s aftershave from where he was and, as if that wasn't enough, the whole blanket smelled so distinctively like Yuta. A mix between the scented wax candles he liked to light up and the perfume Doyoung had given him for his last birthday.

 

It was the same comforting aroma that greeted him whenever he had a breakdown over his impossibly high standards on everything he did; it belonged to the warm sweater, a bit too short on the sleeves, that was leant to him whenever it was too cold; it was the scent of friendly fights and long all-nighters pulled in order to pass one or two subjects.

 

It smelled like everything that made Doyoung wind down.

 

It smelled like home.

 

“I’m sorry,” Yuta said, pulling Doyoung out of his aroma-induced daze. He looked at the other, intrigued, question already on his tongue.

 

“Wh-”

 

“I shouldn’t have blown up like I did. Before. I’m sorry,” Yuta seemed a bit flustered. The blanket wrinkled from where he was holding onto it tightly. “All you do is try to help me and I just go and scream at you. What a shitty friend,” he chuckled bitterly.

 

“The truth is, things haven’t been well, for a while already. And I don’t know, I’m just so sensitive all the time and I keep hearing what I want, not what anyone’s saying, I don’t listen. It’s truly not your fault,” Yuta sighed. He pulled his knees closer to his chest, adjusted the blanket and laid his head on top of his knees. “I didn’t mean any of the things I said before. I’m just, so damn emotional all the time I know there’s something wrong with me. I’m really sorry, Doyoung.”

 

Doyoung could barely see his face yet he didn’t need to guess what he looked like. Yuta’s face was tattooed to his eyelids. The younger could probably trace Yuta’s features seamlessly, could probably discern every little birthmark, every little mole, with just the pad of his fingers. If only he could let his fingers run across his plush mouth, his eyebrows, his cheeks, his jaw, the slope of his nose, the little dimples that appeared every time he smiled. If only he could.

 

If only Yuta would look at him.

 

“I’m sorry, too. I know my way of saying things isn’t...exactly nice. I should’ve tried to be more careful, what with knowing what you’re going through and all.”

 

The small laugh that left Yuta’s lips was an old friend to Doyoung’s trained ears. He was embarrassed.

 

“You’re too good to me, Doyoung. You don’t have to.”

 

_I do._

 

“I do.”

 

It seemed the impromptu words left the two men stunned, for different reasons.

 

Doyoung’s heart was galloping and his mouth felt like cotton all of the sudden. Why oh why, couldn’t he keep his mouth shut?

 

Yuta had placed the phone next to him, on the arm of the sofá, and the light illuminated him from the side. The part that was facing Doyoung was left in complete darkness, only his nose and the shape of his mouth were visible. And Doyoung had been fine with that until now, but Yuta had turned his head completely towards him.

 

The light projected a sort of halo around his messy hair, and even if he couldn’t properly see he knew Yuta’s eyes were wide open, mouth slightly ajar. He could even feel the curiosity oozing out of him.

 

“I have to,” he said, feeling his face heating up.

 

Suddenly, the blizzard wreaking havoc outside seemed so minuscule in comparison to the storm raging inside of him.

 

“Yuta,” he continued after a short silence. “If your boyfriend isn’t good to you, who will be, then? I hate seeing you cry all the time,” he confessed, wringing his fingers and absolutely not looking at Yuta. “You’re so lovely, Yuta, so kind and attentive. I don’t know much about your relationship. I know your boyfriend doesn’t come often because he doesn’t like me.”

 

“Doyoung, I-”

 

“It’s fine,” Doyoung stopped him, gathering what little courage he could find within himself and looked at Yuta.

 

He was so glad he could barely make out his features. Was glad, because it meant Yuta could barely see him, too.

 

“It’s fine because I don’t like him either. I could never like someone who makes you so miserable, Yuta. You deserve so much better, you deserved to be loved correctly. You deserve to be loved, period. And I’m sorry if I’m overstepping, but I can’t stand seeing you suffer so much. I don’t need to be smart to know he doesn’t deserve you.”

 

And really, Doyoung was well aware he shouldn’t have said anything, he should’ve stopped when he had the chance. However, Doyoung knew this speech had been brewing since the first night Yuta came home t all red-rimmed eyes and cheeks stained with dried tears. Every time Yuta’s phone lit up with a text and Yuta furrowed his eyebrows, Doyoung could feel something bubbling inside of him.

 

Inadvertently, Doyoung had been accumulating all of this resentment, all of these worries, all of the love he felt for the other, had been bottling up all of his emotions to the point that a tiny drop, a word, was enough to set him off.

 

And off he went.

 

“You deserve so much more, Yuta. You, of all people, deserve to be treated correctly.”

 

Suddenly, only silence rang in Doyoung’s ears. He was aware the howling of the wind continued relentlessly outside of their apartment, was aware of his own breathing, of Yuta’s breathing, was aware of the windows rattling, yet he couldn’t hear anything.

 

All he could do was watch Yuta watching him, eyes barely visible, hidden by the darkness, staring right at him, as if that was the first time Yuta was actually seeing Doyoung.

 

He was starting to regret his emotional outburst when Yuta let out a light chuckle.

 

“I can’t believe I said you didn’t know what love was,” Yuta continued laughing softly. “Doyoung, everything you said..” he trailed off, hands coming up and fingers brushing against each other in a motion Doyoung knew all too well. Yuta was a foreigner, and although he was extremely good at Korean, he had confessed to Doyoung that there were things he could only think how to say in his native language. Whenever that happened, this cute habit of his came afloat.

 

Yuta couldn’t think properly, it meant.

 

The shorter man just huffed in frustration and Doyoung, who thought that in their current position the two men couldn’t get any closer, let out a muffled yelp when all of the sudden Yuta sneaked his arms around his waist and smashed his face against his side.

 

“Doyoung,” he started again, tightening his embrace around the younger, “thank you.”

 

And he didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t have to.

 

The position wasn’t very comfortable, and Doyoung knew Yuta had noticed as well because he slowly detangled his arms from around Doyoung.  But he didn’t retreat back to his place on the couch. Yuta took Doyoung’s lifeless arm, sneaked it around his own shoulders and reclined against his side once again, resting his head on Doyoung’s shoulder. He also readjusted the blanket around them, making sure the two of them were properly covered.

 

Lastly, he took Doyoung’s hand that was awkwardly hanging from Yuta’s shoulder and took it between his, intertwining their fingers.

 

Doyoung didn’t utter a sound during the whole process, just allowed Yuta to move him to his liking. He wasn’t going to lie, either, he was more than fine with their new intimate position.

 

Of course, he was sure Yuta wasn’t aware of how dangerous this new position was for Doyoung’s health, who could feel how fast his heart was beating, ready to jump out of his ribcage at a moment’s notice.

 

It was comfortable, having Yuta all wrapped up around him, providing him with the warmth his own body lacked.

 

“I like this,” Yuta suddenly said after a couple of minutes. Doyoung shifted his head just a bit in order to catch Yuta’s face. His eyes were closed and there was a relaxed smile hanging from his lips. “You always manage to make me feel better. You’re magical.”

 

He really wasn’t, but Doyoung wouldn't mind learning a trick or two just to keep Yuta around.

 

{-}

 

After the cuddling session, Doyoung figured it wouldn't be too comfortable for two grown men to sleep on the couch. Yuta had fallen asleep and, as much as Doyoung wanted to act like a gentleman and carry him to his bed in his big, strong arms, he wasn’t a very sporty person and his muscles knew this. Also, he didn’t have any big strong arms, just noodle arms which Yuta liked to make fun of when he couldn’t open the lids of jars. Doyoung led a sleepy Yuta to his bed and then promptly escaped to his own, trying with futility to calm down his racing heart and mind.

 

When he woke up bright and early, he was sure everything would go back to how Yuta and Doyoung were before, maybe things would be even better.

 

However, though the lights were back on there was one thing missing in Doyoung’s little fantasy the next morning.

 

Yuta had been gone almost all day and Doyoung had started to believe the other was avoiding him. He had left earlier, which hadn’t actually worried Doyoung at first since he was used to Yuta's morning runs.

  
Only this time around everything was going to be covered in snow and when the temperatures dropped Yuta preferred going to the gym. The gym didn't open until 8am though. Which was why Yuta leaving so early in the morning was a bit suspicious although at first, he didn't pay much attention.

  
However, Yuta didn't come back for breakfast, and he and Doyoung always had breakfast together. It had become some sort of routine, bonding time, Yuta had called it back then.  Doyoung started to grow worried since the other hadn't messaged him, and they always let each other know when the other couldn't make it for breakfast.

  
Yuta was a bit of an airhead sometimes so Doyoung tried to rationalize the slip to his natural lack of awareness. Tried, because the knot that started to form in his stomach couldn't be so easily fooled.

  
His initial anxiety skyrocketed the moment Yuta didn't show up for lunch. The elder, again, always came back home during his lunch break at work, since the beauty parlour in which he worked part-time as manicurist was only a ten-minute walk from home.

  
Yet when lunchtime arrived, Yuta was nowhere to be seen. Doyoung’s phone was devoid of any notifications as well.

  
Okay, so maybe Yuta _was_ avoiding him and maybe that made a tiny dent in his heart. Unconsciously, Yuta was rejecting Doyoung, even before properly confessing.

 

Last night it counted as some sort of confession, his mind unhelpfully supplied for him.

 _It wasn't_ , Doyoung stubbornly protested. _I didn't say I could be the person who loved him right, didn't say I'm in love with him, didn't say I would be the one to treat him well._

  
His heart was riddled with uncertainty. Maybe Yuta, after waking up from his thankful state had actually analyzed Doyoung’s words and interpreted them as a confession and not as merely comforting words. And well, he wouldn't exactly be wrong. And okay, maybe Doyoung had been a tad obvious what with the hand holding and the compliments. However, could anyone really blame him?

  
And okay, maybe Yuta avoiding him after realizing the true weight of Doyoung’s words was a silent confirmation that he would never look at Doyoung in a romantic light.  
  
And maybe the tiny dent in his heart wasn't so tiny after all. Maybe it was a massive black hole that threatened to swallow Doyoung and his feelings, swallow his soul and dry out his heart.

  
He was answering a text from his boss about not going to work when the door opened, startling Doyoung and making him almost drop his phone.

  
"Dons!" Yuta cheerfully called him, removing the scarf from his face and the wool beanie from his head.

  
Doyoung just watched him from his spot on the couch in which he had almost poured his entire heart out the previous night.

  
"Hey," he answered meekly, locking his phone and putting it on the tiny table in front of the sofá. "Where have you been?"

  
Yuta didn't answer right away. Instead, he moved to the kitchen where he put away the groceries he had brought with him.

  
"You weren't here for breakfast...and you didn't come back for lunch, either. I got worried," Doyoung continued.

  
"Yeah, sorry about that. My phone died last night and since the power didn't come back on until early in the morning I couldn't charge it."

  
Well, that made a lot of sense yet it didn't explain why Yuta hadn't come back. Doyoung wasn't the jealous type nor the type to want to know everything about his friends, so he didn't feel comfortable interrogating Yuta. However, the feeling that Yuta had been avoiding him the entire day persisted within him and Doyoung really hated it. He had to know if he had fucked up their friendship forever.

  
"I had some things to take care of so I didn't come back. Sorry for worrying you."  
  
Such a vague answer didn't quell Doyoung's curiosity nor his fears, but he wasn't about to ask any further.

  
"Everything has been taken care of, so now you have me all to yourself," Yuta joked, approaching Doyoung.

  
Doyoung almost snorted at the subtle irony he was sure Yuta didn't intend in the first place.  
  
It was when Yuta sat down next to him that he noticed the bottle of soju and the two glasses in his hands. He put the glasses on the tiny table and proceeded to open the bottle of alcohol.

  
"What's this for?" Doyoung asked while watching Yuta pour soju in the two glasses.

  
Before answering, Yuta gave him one of the glasses and clanked his own glass with Doyoung's.

  
"Tonight, my dear Doyoung, we are celebrating my return to the bachelor's life," Yuta announced cheerfully, chugging almost the whole glass.

  
_What?_

  
"What do you mean?" Doyoung asked, perplexed, glass intact in his hand.

  
"I mean, I broke up with my boyfriend."

  
_Oh?_

  
Oh.

  
Doyoung felt confused for a hot moment. Broke up as in, they weren't together anymore? As in, Yuta was single? As in, Doyoung had a chance?

  
"It's hard to believe, I know," Yuta kept on going, misunderstanding Doyoung's silence and lack of response. "I actually thought I wasn't going to be able to do it once I were in front of him. I thought I was going to cry a river but you know what?"

  
Doyoung didn't know.

  
"I didn't, I didn't cry at all. I felt as if I had cried enough for him. And it was so easy to look him in the eye and tell him we were over."

  
Yuta suddenly flushed and softly took Doyoung's free hand between his.

  
"The talk we had last night...your words. They gave me strength."

  
Doyoung felt himself heat up under Yuta's big thankful eyes, under Yuta's blinding smile, under the warmth of his fingers.

  
"Thank you, Doyoung. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. You were right, I deserve better."

  
With one last squeeze, Yuta let go of his hand and reached for his glass once again.

  
Doyoung took a sip from his glass and smiled as nonchalantly as he could.

  
"I'm really happy for you, Yuta. Really. I'm glad that I was able to help, although of course, everything was your own doing, your own decision and resolution."

 

Really happy was the understatement of the year.

 

Doyoung was really fucking ecstatic, over the moon happy. Of course, he couldn't just stand up and dance and yip all around the room while chanting a thankful prayer to whatever God was looking out for him.

  
So instead of screaming at the top of his lungs, he just poured Yuta and himself each another glass of soju.

  
"This definitely calls for a celebration," he said while motioning Yuta to toast with him.

The happy sounds that filled the room were music to Doyoung's ear. Yuta didn't have the most subtle, most melodic laugh in the world, it was actually quite far from that. But to Doyoung, it was the most charming melody in the universe.

  
A melody he had missed painfully so.

  
"Ah, you're truly the best."

  
"I know," Doyoung joked, wiggling his eyebrows in Yuta's direction. "I should just record you saying that so next time you forget I'll remind you of my awesomeness."

  
Yuta chuckled and slowly left his glass on the table.

  
"Maybe you should," answered Yuta, smiling at him.

  
And maybe the black hole that had threatened to swallow him whole now turned into an orchestra, using the rapid rhythm of his heartbeat as a base in order to play the sweetest of melodies.

 

_Hope._

 {-}

  
The days that came after Yuta's breakup were filled with nothing but bonding time. Yuta felt apologetic towards his friend, whom he hadn't really paid attention to or spent much quality time with.

  
They resumed their routine of shared breakfast and lunch, and they went back to their Wednesday movie night, an event that had been unofficially cancelled when Yuta first started having problems with his boyfriend.

  
In reality, Doyoung didn't know why they were fighting. All he knew is that Yuta's boyfriend, in the beginning, was rather charming and loved Yuta a lot.

  
Seojun was handsome, tall, well-mannered and quite eloquent.

  
In short, Doyoung's nightmare, since they were all traits he took pride in.

  
Yet it seemed Yuta's boyfriend was better at everything. Yuta never really talked about him when he was with Doyoung, an attitude that he appreciated greatly, so he didn't know much about him other than the little things he could notice during their brief encounters.

  
Yuta never mentioned the reason why they broke up and Doyoung wasn't going to push his luck any further. Yuta was single and that was all that mattered.

 

This boyfriendless Yuta was something to be _admired_. His infamous smile made a comeback and his eyes were shining most of the time.

  
If Doyoung thought he couldn't fall deeper into the pit of profound unrequited love, he was completely wrong.

  
Because Yuta didn't only revert back to the active, happy-go-lucky boy he was before Seojun, he also became clingier. He would latch to Doyoung's arm whenever he was excited about something, would grab his hand when Doyoung was scared of the damn horror movies Yuta made him watch, would nudge his shoulder when the other was teasing him.

  
Now that Doyoung thought about it, Yuta had always been clingy like that. He used to fluster Doyoung with every little movement he made.

  
And it was so hard to keep his emotions in check when Yuta smiled at him like Doyoung was his favourite person in the entire world, was hard to control his heart whenever he caught Yuta looking at him with that pensive face. Those times, Yuta wouldn't even grow flustered, he would just shake his head as if pulling himself out of a daze and grinned coyly at Doyoung.

  
They had fallen back into a rhythm and Doyoung was trying to soak into this happy Yuta as much as possible.

  
He knew he had to make a move before Yuta fell for someone else. However, Doyoung was conflicted: was it too soon to try and woo him? What was the standard time he had to wait before going for someone who had recently ended their relationship? How, oh how, could Doyoung show how interested he was in Yuta? To him, and to many of his friends, he couldn't be more obvious what with all the staring and red cheeks.

  
The sole idea of trying to flirt with Yuta in a non-platonic way made his palms sweat and his blood pressure skyrocket.

  
He wasn't sure how to proceed without damaging his well-being. And again, Doyoung wasn't really good at flirting either, nor was he good at showing interesting.

  
It was a month and a half later that Yuta asked Doyoung if he knew why he had broken up with his boyfriend.

  
They were watching one of the many thrillers Yuta loved to watch when the elder paused the film. Doyoung had noticed the other was a bit restless, moving his limbs around as if he couldn't get comfortable. He had also noticed the distracted shine in his eyes when he stole glances at him. Generally, Yuta's eyes would be solely trained on the TV yet this time around his eyes looked unfocused.

  
The sudden question threw Doyoung off, who could only blink in response. If he were to be honest, he had toyed around with the idea to no avail. None of his theories seemed plausible enough and Yuta barely mentioned his relationship. He was in the dark.

 

He wasn't sure what Yuta was looking for when he asked Doyoung such a question.

 

He shook his head, turning his body towards Yuta in order to show him he had his full attention.

 

Yuta just sighed, resting his elbow on his knee and resting his head in his palm.

 

"We broke up because of you."

 

Doyoung froze, round eyes widened in disbelief.

 

Well, Doyoung had actually thought about it a couple of times, but he was sure the one who would come to a decision all by himself would be Yuta. After all, he was a person who never let others decide for him nor influence his choices.

 

There was no way in hell Doyoung telling him a couple of times to “break up with that asshole” would be enough for him to actually end their relationship of years.

 

“What do you mean?” He carefully asked, angling his body towards Yuta.

 

“I fell in love with you.”

 

“Uh?”

 

Yuta laughed a bit, watching Doyoung’s bewildered expression.

 

“I actually found out about it myself just recently,” Yuta continued laughing as if he hadn’t just confessed to Doyoung. “It was actually Seojun who realised it. We were having problems because he thought I spent a lot of time with you and would ditch him in a second the moment you needed me. He hated that I talked so much about you when we met up, too.”

 

“At first I thought he was being way too paranoid and possessive, and I told him so. He was never a jealous person so the fact that he complained so much about you actually caught me off guard. I would always end up crying because I felt he was accusing me of cheating on him, which I have never done. I kept saying you were nothing but a friend to me, my dear friend, my dear roommate,” Yuta’s cheeky smile suddenly turned bitter and his gaze, although directed straight to Doyoung, seemed to see past him, as if Yuta wasn’t actually looking at him but at a distant memory.

 

“He never actually accused me of cheating, he told me he knew I wasn’t like that. Yet I felt like I was cheating on him. He tried to break up with me and I begged him to stay because I couldn't stand the fact of being apart just because he believed I didn’t love him.”

 

Suddenly, Yuta’s eyes filled with tears and he cleared his throat as if trying to swallow the sob that was threatening to spill over his lips back.

 

“He said,” he continued, trying to get a hold of himself, “he said I was being selfish because how could he leave me if I begged him to stay, he loved me and I was taking advantage of that. He said I was being mean and selfish, and I,” at this point the tears pooled in his eyes started silently spilling and his voice started wavering. “I’m not like that, you know? I would never do something so mean. I would never. But he stayed, and it was for the worse. He would look for every chance he got to say I was a player, that I was only using him, that I couldn’t stay without a boyfriend and since you would never love me, I couldn’t leave him.”

 

Doyoung wasn’t sure how to react to all the information Yuta had just dumped on him. His heart was beating like crazy on his chest and he felt he was actually disassociating from reality, he couldn’t feel his surroundings nor his fingers.

 

“But, then, the other night, the night of the blizzard, you,” Yuta took a breath and slowly released the air, a weak attempt to compose himself, “you said all those things. All those nice things. About me. About how I was so lovely and I deserved to be loved.”

 

At this point, it seemed Yuta came back to his senses, his gaze suddenly piercing Doyoung all over again.

 

“And Doyoung, when you said all of those things I thought I would die if I didn’t kiss you, if I didn’t hold you, if I didn’t tell you just how much you mean to me, how much I love you.”

 

“And I was so scared because what Seojun said was actually true. How could I have been so blind, how could I mistake the enamoured crazy beating of my heart when I saw you with excitement, how could I mistake my insides twisting uncomfortably whenever you mentioned someone you kissed with being overprotective? How could I mistake my feelings for you for something merely platonic?”

 

“And I told him that even if he was right all along, he couldn’t treat me like that, that it was shitty of him to be so mean to me. And I told him that I deserved to be loved correctly, not in such a twisted, manipulative way.”

 

“Over the past few days, since I realised I was- am in love with you, have been so hard. Having you so close yet not close enough. Doyoung, I’m so sorry if I’m burdening you with everything I just told you, but I can’t take this anymore. I felt like I was going to explode if I didn’t tell you.”

 

Yuta fell silent, chest rising and falling in a rapid manner.

 

There was a beat of silence before Doyoung disrupted it.

 

“You felt like you were going to explode?” he suddenly snorted, feeling little compassion for Yuta’s predicament. “Yuta, please, I have been in love with you for years, and I have said nothing about it, and _you_ think you were going to explode? You had a boyfriend, for fuck’s sake. What’s left for me, then?”

 

“Wait,” Yuta said, eyes widened comically, “you love me?”

 

Doyoung almost laughed at the sudden question. Oh, sweet naive Yuta who knew nothing.

 

“Yes, Yuta I love you so much I would combust into flames if you just--- wait!”

 

Doyoung couldn’t even finish his sentence seeing that Yuta had launched himself from his spot on the couch. He had barely caught the other when Yuta grabbed his face with trembling his fingers.

 

“You love me?”

 

And the dazzling smile on Yuta’s face, the way his eyes crinkled, the way Doyoung could count Yuta’s teeth, the wait his tiny dimple made itself known, the way Yuta smelled like scented wax, they were all far too distracting and Doyoung was only a man.

 

Still dizzy with the absurd change of events, he just nodded.

 

“I love you, too,” Yuta whispered before closing the minimal distance between them, kissing Doyoung with fervour.

 

And wow.

 

_Wow._

How on earth had Doyoung and Yuta gone from watching a film to making out on the couch?

 

And really, there were still tons of questions swirling inside of Doyoung’s mind but for the time being, he was just going to savour the moment and kiss the life out of Yuta, the boy who had stolen his heart with his awful laugh and stupid remarks.

 

Just like he had dreamt about countless times.

 

When they separated, Yuta was still smiling, teeth in full display.

 

“I had an inkling you might like me a bit more than as a friend when you said all those lovely things about me. Maybe a small crush,” Yuta said, giggling, and God, that was the cutest sound on earth Doyoung had _ever_ heard. “But I wasn’t expecting for you to actually be in love with me.”

 

Doyoung flushed, flashbacks of that fateful night running through his mind like a movie.

 

“Ugh, shut up, that was embarrassing,” he whined, trying without actual force to push Yuta off him.

 

“No,” Yuta replied, furrowing his eyebrows, “it wasn’t. It was really sweet of you, and it made me feel the happiest I ever felt.”

 

“God, you’re so cheesy,” Doyoung huffed, trying to will away his embarrassment and the redness on his cheeks.

 

Yuta just laughed at him, still staring intensely at him from his position on top of Doyoung’s chest.

 

“Will you?”

 

“Mh?” Doyoung asked, confused by such a sudden question.

 

“Do all of those things,” Yuta supplied, eyes bright and expecting.

 

“Sorry,” Doyoung said, rubbing his thumbs all over the short expanse of exposed skin of Yuta’s back, “I’m not following.”

 

“Will you love me right? Will you treat me correctly? Will you cherish me?”

 

And how Yuta could say all of those things without batting an eyelash was out of Doyoung’s understanding.

 

Doyoung just reached up and softly grabbed the back of Yuta’s head, guiding it towards his left shoulder.

 

“Doyoung…?” Yuta asked, voice muffled by Doyoung’s shirt and puzzled by such a reaction. He couldn’t even see Doyoung’s face and the hand lightly pressing his head against his shoulder made it impossible for him to move. Doyoung was keeping him in place.

 

“Of course I will, you idiot. I’ve been doing so for a while already, not that you’ve noticed.”

 

“Doyoung, are you embarrassed? That’s why you don’t want me to see your face?” Yuta teased when he noticed how red Doyoung’s neck was.

 

“Shut up,” Doyoung mumbled, not actually making an effort to contradict Yuta’s words.

 

Yuta just laughed and made himself comfortable, hugging Doyoung’s torso and lovingly rubbing his nose against his collarbone.

 

“It’s alright, don’t be embarrassed. I also will,” he whispered, giving a quick peck to Doyoung’s neck, “love you right, treat you correctly, cherish you.”

 

Doyoung said nothing, but Yuta could hear the furious beating of his heart. Not that he minded it, seeing as his own heart was currently threatening to fly all the way out of his chest.

 

“You better,” Doyung warned, no real bite behind his words.

 

“You’ll see, I’m gonna make up for the lost time,” Yuta assured him, pulling Doyoung’s hand away from his head so he could lift himself up and be face to face with him.

 

And there was no comeback this time, seeing that Doyoung had gotten lost in Yuta’s impossibly bright eyes, in his long eyelashes, in the way his eyes were happily crinkling.

 

He really was a sight to behold.

 

“Happiness suits you so much,” Doyoung whispered, almost breathlessly, hand coming up to accomodate a strand of Yuta’s long hair behind his ear.

 

“You suit me, that’s why,” he smiled cheekily, slightly chuckling and scrunching his nose in the process.

 

Doyoung rolled his eyes in mocked annoyance, unable to take such an endearing sight.

 

“Come here, you big casanova.”

 

And Yuta dived in, kissing Doyoung with everything he got, making the boy under him squirm with every kittenish lick he gave.

 

Later that night, when the lights were out and they were tightly ensconced beneath a shared blanket in Doyoung’s bed, Yuta gazed at the younger’s face in between soft kisses, caressing his cheek. “And to think we owe this all to a blackout…” he said with a small laugh before adding, “I’ll weather any storm with you.”

 

“Just no asshole boyfriends,” Doyoung muttered, an underlying promise hidden in his words.

 

“No asshole boyfriends,” Yuta promised.

 

Doyoung thought his current boyfriend was way too predictable when he made a long pause before adding in a hushed tone,

 

“I mean, you’re a bit of an asshole, though.”

 

“Yuta, shut up.”

 

The little giggle that escaped from Yuta’s mouth was enough to elicit a satisfactory smile from Doyoung, who only tightened his hold on his smaller boyfriend.

 

Maybe cold wasn’t that bad, Doyoung mused while bathing in Yuta’s warmth, when you had the person of your dreams in your arms. And, alright, that was quite a cheesy way of thinking but could you really blame Doyoung? He was finally with Yuta, they were a _thing_ , they were _together._ Doyoung from last month wouldn't have been able to even dream of being so damn lucky, so he was going to bask in the glow of his already perfect relationship with no guilt whatsoever. He was going to have all the cheesy and romantic thoughts he wanted. There was nothing that could ruin such a precious moment, nothing that could bring Doyoung's mood down, nothing that-

 

“Doyoung, you’re fucking cold, keep your freezing feet off of my shins or I’ll kick you out of the bed.”

 

“It’s my bed!”

 

“Did I stutter?”

 

Well, nobody was perfect.

 

But Doyoung wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a lot to my AMAZING beta, Eden, who helped me come up with a plot for the prompt and guided me through the ending of the fic as well! Love you lots~~
> 
> Thanks a lot to the mod for organizing such an incredible fest, and for being such an angel with the deadlines!!! Our boys sure deserve some love so I'm happy I could participate in this DoYu fest~
> 
> If you liked my fic please leave a comment or some kudos, I'd truly appreciate it :)
> 
> Stan doyu and have a great day!
> 
> (STREAM #WANT)


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